Sweden's Maja Stark grabs one-shot lead at US Women's Open
Leader Maja Stark of Sweden lining up a putt during the third round of the US Women's Open on May 31. PHOTO: AFP
CHICAGO – Maja Stark fired three birdies in an impressively steady two-under 70 at an unforgiving Erin Hills on May 31 to seize a one-stroke lead over Julia Lopez Ramirez heading into the final round of the 80th US Women's Open.
Sweden's Stark, a European Solheim Cup stalwart chasing her first Major title, kept her focus in a round that stretched nearly six hours as players wrestled with firm, fast greens on a breezy, sunny day in Wisconsin.
Her seven-under total of 209 put her one stroke clear of Spanish qualifier Lopez Ramirez, whose four-under 68 was the best score of a day on which only nine players broke par.
Japan's Mai Saigo, who started the day with a three-shot lead, carded a three-over 75 to share third, alongside compatriots Rio Takeda and Hinako Shibuno on five-under 211.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who played alongside Saigo in the final group, finished strong in a one-over 73 that left her three adrift on four-under 212.
Stark said the very difficulty of the course actually made her less anxious – a key for her as she tries to kick the habit of 'playing scared'.
'In normal tournaments, I kind of swing scared because I think it's a birdie competition, but here it's really not,' Stark said, adding that on June 1, she will just 'try to play freely'.
Stark opened with a confidence-boosting birdie at the first hole. She bogeyed the third, but stuck her second shot at the 10th two feet from the pin for a birdie.
Stark rattled in a 21-foot birdie at the par-three 16th to seize a share of the lead on seven-under, capping her round with a par at the par-five 18th and emerging with the solo lead as Saigo closed with back-to-back bogeys.
The tough scoring made Lopez Ramirez's round look all the more impressive.
The 22-year-old, who had to pause her LPGA rookie campaign in March after undergoing an appendectomy, eagled the par-five first and bounced back from a bogey at the third with a birdie at the seventh, where she got up and down from a greenside bunker.
She added birdies at 12 and 16 to put herself in contention for a first major title.
'It was just mentally a strong day for me, keeping myself present and dealing with what's in front of me,' Lopez Ramirez added.
On the PGA Tour, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler conjured a late birdie blitz to fire a four-under 68 and grab a one-shot lead after the third round of the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, on May 31.
Scheffler, bidding to successfully defend his crown at Muirfield Village, rattled in four birdies in the final five holes to drop to eight under, one ahead of overnight leader Ben Griffin, who stumbled with an even-par 72. AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
24 minutes ago
- Straits Times
FIFA's inaugural Club World Cup set to kick off in the US amid challenges
FILE PHOTO: The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 winners trophy is displayed in Times Square ahead of the tournament featuring 32 teams and 63 matches, spread across 12 stadiums in 11 U.S. cities in June and July, in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo FIFA's inaugural Club World Cup set to kick off in the US amid challenges FIFA's billion-dollar gamble to revolutionise club football begins a week on Sunday with plenty of cash up for grabs but questionable enthusiasm as 32 teams prepare to contest the expanded Club World Cup in 12 stadiums across the United States. The tournament – designed as a glittering showcase ahead of the 2026 World Cup – has had to contend with the prospect of empty seats along with controversial qualification rules and player welfare concerns after an exhausting European season. Lionel Messi's Inter Miami face Saudi Arabia's Al Ahly in the opening fixture on June 15 at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, with tickets still widely available days before kickoff. A glance at FIFA's website shows lots of tickets available, including for the July 13 final at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. Messi's presence underscores the tournament's contentious foundations. Inter Miami gained entry by topping Major League Soccer's regular season standings, despite losing in the first round of the playoffs – a decision critics say shows FIFA's desperation to have the Argentina great at their inaugural showpiece. FIFA's decision to give the host nation a spot and award it to Inter Miami underlined the opaque nature of the qualifying criteria for the tournament, which won't feature Liverpool, Barcelona or Napoli who have all just been crowned champions of three of the most prestigious leagues in Europe. Apart from the winners of each confederation's premier club competitions, teams qualified according to a ranking based on their performances over a four-year period. There is also the case of Club Leon, the 2023 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners, who were excluded from the tournament just over a month ago due to having shared ownership with another qualifier. The spot has gone to MLS's Los Angeles FC. RIGHTS DEAL Nailing down a last-gasp $1 billion TV rights deal with sports streaming platform DAZN six months before the tournament means a total of $2 billion in expected revenues. That led FIFA to announce a total prize pot of $1 billion, with the winning club to receive up to $125 million. That figure represents 25% more than Paris St Germain earned from their entire 17-match Champions League campaign. But this largesse has not quelled concerns about player welfare, with the global players union FIFPro taking legal action against FIFA over a tournament that further compresses the precious recovery time between gruelling seasons. Furthermore there is still concern over the playing surfaces after last season's Copa America, when many headlines focused on the sub-par conditions and smaller pitch dimensions. Those pitches, measuring 100 by 64 metres, were 740 square metres smaller than FIFA's standard size, prompting widespread discontent among players and coaches. FIFA has given assurances that this time the NFL stadiums hosting the matches will meet their specifications, confirming that all venues will feature natural grass and adhere to the standard regulation dimensions of 105 by 68 metres. Divided into eight groups of four teams, top contenders include Real Madrid, winners of six of the last 12 Champions League titles, plus German champions Bayern Munich and 2023 Premier League and Champions League winners Manchester City. European champions Paris St Germain are the in-form team heading into the tournament after their historic 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in the Champions League final on Saturday. But they must survive a tough Group B featuring South American and Brazilian champions Botafogo and 2024 CONCACAF winners Seattle Sounders plus Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. Whether you call it soccer or football, for FIFA the tournament represents a dress rehearsal and a referendum on America's appetite for the sport and on the world governing body's vision for its commercial future ahead of the 2026 World Cup being co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
25 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Gold medallist Thomas harassed by bettor at Grand Slam Track
Gabby Thomas competing in the women's 200m on the Grand Slam Track-Philadelphia on May 31. PHOTO: AFP NEW YORK - Three-times Olympic gold medallist Gabby Thomas said she was verbally abused at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia last weekend, the latest incident of harassment the American has reported in 2025. Thomas, who won gold in the 200 metres, and 4x100m and 4x400m relays at the Paris Games, said in a post on X that a man followed her around the track while she took pictures for fans and signed autographs, shouting personal insults at her. "Anybody who enables him online is gross," wrote Thomas. Thomas' post was in response to another on X which contained a video of a person heckling Thomas while she was on the starting line, shouting "you're a choke artist - you're going down, Gabby". "I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win," the social media user wrote, with a screenshot of two multi-leg bets on the FanDuel sportsbook platform. The track circuit said in a statement: "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video. We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. "We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated." Thomas finished third overall in the short sprints group for the Philadelphia meet, the third in the novel circuit's inaugural season. One of American track's brightest stars, the 28-year-old Thomas catapulted to mainstream fame after her breakout performance in Paris, gracing the cover of American "Vogue" magazine and appearing on US talk shows. But Thomas has also suffered the darker side of fame, describing on TikTok this year how she was stalked by a group of men at several airports, as social media gives female athletes greater exposure. The incident at Grand Slam Track also reflected a growing link between sports betting and harassment, with female tennis players including Caroline Garcia pointing to "unhealthy betting" as a key culprit. Major tennis governing bodies moved to combat online abuse and published last year a report that attributed nearly half of abusive social media posts to angry gamblers. "Thank you for pointing out this disgusting behavior," retired former world 10,000m silver medallist and NBC Sports commentator Kara Goucher wrote on X. "You are exposing the crap that women go through and will eventually help other women as well." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Sublime Sinner marches on in French Open with drubbing of Rublev
Italy's Jannik Sinner plays a backhand return to Russia's Andrey Rublev during their men's singles match at the French Open on June 2. PHOTO: AFP PARIS - Top seed Jannik Sinner continued his serene French Open progress with a 6-1 6-3 6-4 dismantling of Russian Andrey Rublev to reach the quarter-finals in ominous fashion on June 2. Ruthlessly efficient from the baseline, the Italian dissected world number 15 Rublev's game in stunning fashion to make light work of the Court Philippe Chatrier night match. The 23-year-old, bidding to win a third successive Grand Slam title after his triumphs in New York and Melbourne, has won 12 out of 12 sets so far on the Parisian clay and is beginning to look unstoppable in his quest for a first French crown. Rublev did not play at all badly, but after failing to convert either of the two break points he had in the opening game he could make little impression. World number one Sinner was at least pushed hard in the third set as Rublev threw caution to the wind but he pounced to break the Russian's serve in the 10th game to stretch his streak of wins in Grand Slams to 18 matches. "I'm very, very happy because things can turn very quickly in a bad way in best of five sets," said Sinner, who served a three-month doping ban before returning to action in Rome in May. Rublev had beaten Sinner twice before, including once last year, and also prevailed when the two met at the same stage of the French Open in 2022, albeit when Sinner retired hurt. This time, however, the accuracy and ferocity of Sinner's ground strokes left the Russian scrambling just to try and hang on to his opponent's coat tails. Russia's Andrey Rublev reacts during his fourth round match against Italy's Jannik Sinner. PHOTO: REUTERS Initially, when Rublev belted away a forehand winner to leave Sinner at 15-40 down in the opening game, it looked like it could be a contest. But the Italian swatted away that early danger before delivering a masterclass for the evening crowd. Only three unforced errors came off his racket in set one and he offered up only a few more in the second as he barely appeared to be breaking sweat. Sinner only had to save one more break point, at 2-2 in the third set, but by that stage the match was already heading for its predictable conclusion. He will have to face a very different sort of test in the quarter-finals when he faces Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik who stunned fifth seed Jack Draper with a spellbinding four-set win. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
